Before the Blast
by TheEmberRaven
Summary: A look at the lives of the X-men before the explosion separates them and destroys the team. Reviews welcome and appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

**Before the Blast**

**Summary: **A look at the lives of the X-men before the explosion separates them and destroys the team. Reviews welcome and appreciated!

**A/N: After seeing Wolverine and the X-men a dozen times, I've always wished they'd done a "before the show" type episode. You know, a look into the team's lives before the beginning of the series. The little snippet in Episode 1 was never satisfying enough for me, so I wrote this to give the show some background. (Maybe if there'd been a season 2, they would have made such an episode, BUT WE'LL NEVER KNOW NOW! Stupid show writers….)**

**I almost forgot my disclaimer: No, no, and no. Thank you.**

oOo

**Chapter 1:**

Wolverine enjoyed nothing more than hearing the groans of his students in his early morning Danger Room sessions. Well, slashing buildings to bits was high up on his list, so maybe this was his second favorite.

It was 6:30. Nice and early. Wolverine smirked as his morning class—Angel, Bobby, Kitty, and Kurt—shuffled in. Kitty was leaning on Bobby, looking half-dead, and Bobby was icing up, a sign that he was barely awake himself. Angel ruffled his wings and stretched for a moment. He seemed semi-alive. Kurt looked the most alert out of the group, but he wasn't happy about being dragged out of bed at such an early hour.

"Alright kids. We're gonna warm up with Program Brawler. Level 3," Wolverine instructed, making sure he sounded extra chipper and perky. It pissed the kids off.

Bobby yawned and pushed Kitty off his shoulder. "Can we warm up with, you know, sleeping on the floor for half an hour?" he suggested.

"No, now quit yer whinin," Wolverine barked. "I don't care how tired you are. This'll build character."

He strode across the room and stepped into the elevator, taking him up the control panel. He set up the program and hit START. The room quickly turned into an obstacle course. Angel spread his wings and flew out of the way of most of the obstacles. The others were slower to respond. Bobby flung a few ice crystals at some incoming claws then leaned against one of the walls and put a layer of ice over himself, shielding him in a case. Kurt stuck to idly dodging objects. He didn't bother with the usual acrobatics. Kitty moved around half-heartedly and phased through everything that came at her. Angel did little more than hover around and dodge flying obstacles.

After a minute, Wolverine got very annoyed with his students lack of enthusiasm. He opened up the control panel again and made some adjustments to the program. He smiled and watched as a few seconds later, the entire floor collapsed, and the students fell into a basin of ice-cold water.

"Aaaah! Logan!" Kitty screamed, doing a furious doggy-paddle. Bobby woke up—startled—but didn't seem too alarmed. Ice cold water wasn't so bad for him. Kurt landed in the water and quickly teleported to a wall and hung onto the rungs of a built-in wall ladder. He shivered and shook himself off like a dog. Angel didn't fall in, but he got soaking wet from the splashes of the other students.

"Logan!" Angel screamed.

Wolverine just shrugged. "It builds character, remember?" He set to work on shutting down the program. "I sure hope you're all wide awake tomorrow morning."

oOo

The older students were sitting around the table, eating breakfast. Kitty, Kurt, Bobby, and Angel didn't really feel like talking. They were all secretly plotting horrible forms of revenge for their teacher. Scott was quiet as usual, and Jean shut up because she could feel the tension in the air.

"Well, ah guess everyone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Rogue piped up after a minute. She didn't like awkward silences.

A few of the students glared at her.

"Yah think?" Bobby grumbled. "Just be lucky _you_ didn't have a DR session at 6 freaking AM."

"That bad, huh?"

Kitty shivered at the thought. "Logan dumped us in a freezing cold pool because 'we weren't awake enough' or whatever," she grumbled.

"What? It builds character," Scott chimed in with a cheeky smile.

Everyone else turned at him with death glares. "Shut up, Summers."

Scott shrugged innocently.

"What?"

oOo

The day went by normally. Scott and Jean had a fight (for the fifth time that week), Rogue sulked because Logan was thinking he might take off for a few days. Bobby iced up the floors to the kitchen and tripped Storm—twice. That didn't end well. Dr. McCoy spent the day in the lab. The Professor finished reading a book in his study. Since it was Saturday, the students had a break. Most of them went outside to play 'mutantball'.

"Alright guys, who's got the bats and balls?" Scott said, leading the students onto the baseball diamond in one of the backfields of the estate. Peter held up a baseball bag.

"I do."

"Great." Peter threw the bag onto the grass and Scott rooted through it for a nice bat. "Ok guys, I want to see a nice, clean game."

Everyone stared at him. "This is us you're talking about, right?" Kitty pointed out. "We don't play nice. Have you seen some of the guys? They cheat all the time."

"Oh, I know," Scott sighed. "I know."

"I call team captain," Peter announced. No one was going to argue with him. Scott looked around.

"Kurt, you're the other captain, alright?"

Kurt smiled. "Fine vith me." He and Peter began selecting teammates.

"Why do you get to be captain and not me?" Bobby grumbled after being picked onto Kurt's team.

"Because I'm older und wiser zan you," Kurt replied, smiling triumphantly.

The two teams, "The Murderous Penguins" and the "Pink Ponies" (you can guess which one was mostly guys and which one wasn't….) assembled on the field. The Penguins were first to bat, so Kurt gathered everyone in a huddle.

"Anyone want to take out Scott so ve can play zis our way?" he said.

"I can take care of Mr. Military," Kitty offered. "What's the game plan?"

"Use anything and everything to get an advantage," Angel offered up.

"Sounds good to me," a boy named Thomas agreed.

"Ok then."

Angel was first up to bat. While was preparing, Kitty snuck around behind Scott and pulled him down into the ground. She phased him up to his neck and walked away from the very angry young man. A long string of cuss words poured from his mouth. Kitty just shook her head and walked off.

"Scott Summers. Who knew you could use such language?"

At that point, everyone cheered, because Scott made life more difficult and they were glad to be rid of him. Jean, who was sitting on the sidelines, did nothing but smile and shake her head. "Some loyal girlfriend she is," one of the students remarked.

The game then commenced Scott-free. The two teams let loose all their dirty tricks and sneaky cheats. The Penguins used a boy named Sean who could move rocks to take out some of The Ponies. The girls had Lily, who could slow down objects around her, such as other people, or flying balls for example. Both teams were pretty evenly matched.

After the second inning, Storm came outside and hustled everyone inside, because she sensed a thunderstorm coming.

"Aw, why can't you make it go away, Mrs. Munroe?" Bobby asked.

Storm glared at him. "If you hadn't iced the floors and made me trip, maybe I wouldn't have a killer headache and therefore not want to move the storm," was her cold reply. "Now inside. Hop."

A few of the students gathered around in the rec room to play a board game. Scott and Jean went somewhere to make out. Storm went inside to tend to her plants. After thirty minutes, the storm got bad, and the power went out. Luckily, there was a girl, "Beamer", who could supply electricity, and she acted as a generator for a while.

oOo

"Ageist."

Angel stared at the Scrabble board. "Dude, that's not a word," he remarked.

Kitty sat back. "Oh yes it is," she smirked.

"What's it mean?"

"It's like being racist or sexist, except with age. Ageist."

Angel squinted at the board in disbelief. "Nope. I don't believe you. That's not a word."

"Yes, it is, Warren," Kurt said quietly from a nearby couch. "I remember it from 11th grade vocabulary." He glanced up from his book and gave Angel a firm stare.

Angel bit his lip stubbornly. "Fine. Whatever. Ageist is a word."

Kitty punched the air. "Woohoo! One for the girl."

Angel huffed and sat back. "My turn." He put down the letters I and A after an M.

Kitty cocked her head. "Mia's not a word."

"Missing in action. Yeah it is."

"It's an acronym, Angel. That doesn't count."

"Yes it does."

"No, it doesn't."

"Kurt!" they both growled, looking for support.

"It's not a vord, Warren," Kurt said dismissively. "Acronyms aren't allowed in Scrabble. Sorry."

Angel sat back again and crossed his arms, his expression resembling that of a frustrated 5 year old. Kitty just sat there grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"I don't want to play anymore," Angel admitted after a few minutes. His total score was 55. Kitty's was 147.

"Vell, find something else to do, zen," Kurt suggested, closing his book. He hadn't gotten much reading done with all the bickering going on.

"Sleep sounds good," Angel offered. "I'm still tired from this morning."

"No kidding," Kitty added. "If Logan ever tries to get me into a DR session that early again…."

"Hey, I bet ve can make sure he doesn't," Kurt said, climbing off the couch. "Warren, go get Bobby. I have an idea."

oOo

It was 3:45 AM. Kurt's alarm went off, quickly silenced after the first loud screech. He crawled out of bed and sat on his comforter for a moment, trying to shift his brain into gear. After a minute, he stretched and padded across the room to wake up Angel.

"Come on, mein friend. Let's go," he whispered, nudging Angel in the shoulder. Angel groaned and opened one eye.

"Wha time ees eet?" he muttered.

"Put it this way—you vent to bed about three hours ago."

Angel closed his eyes. "Oh. _That_ early."

"Ja."

Kurt scurried off to find Kitty and Bobby. They woke with the same lack of enthusiasm that Angel had. Bobby nearly kicked Kurt out of his room, and Kitty tried to swipe him in the face, only she was so tired that her hand phased right through his head.

Three minutes later, they were all up and ready to go.

Elsewhere, Logan was sound asleep in his room. He rolled over in his sleep and exhaled loudly. Just then, there was a knocking at his door. A moment later, it came again. After a third time, the sound surfaced Logan to consciousness and his eyes shot open. He looked around for a moment before crawling out of bed and shuffling to the door. Who wanted him at 4 in the morning?

Logan opened the door to see Kurt, Kitty, Bobby, and Angel standing on the other side. They were all in full DR uniform. Their eyes were bright. There was a smug smile on their faces.

"What is it?" Logan gargled, half-awake.

"Oh, you know, just time for our early morning DR session," Kitty chirped sweetly.

Logan blinked. "It's not even four in the morning."

"Uh huh."

Logan glanced at his students and growled. "I need my sleep. Come back in a couple of hours."

He turned to go back in his room, but Angel grabbed him by the arm. "We want our session now. You did say you wanted us to be more awake, and so here we are," he said innocently.

Logan, realizing this was a fight he was going to lose, sighed and said, "Fine. Lemme get my uniform."

He came out about two minutes later to find his students still standing right outside his door "Let's go," Kitty sang, leading the way.

Logan just sighed again.

They arrived at the Danger Room and Logan crossed the floor to the elevator. It was broken (no thanks to a little help from Forge). Logan turned around and growled. "I don't believe this."

"Must've happened last night," Angel said, winking at Kurt and Bobby.

"You can always take the stairs, Mr. Logan," Bobby offered.

Logan glared at him. "All seven flights of it?"

"Unless you know another way to get up to the control panel."

Logan pushed open the door to the stairs and began climbing.

Kitty and the others chuckled as soon as he was gone. "I hope ve get a break after this," Kurt grinned.

"Yeah. Like a week's break from DR sessions," Bobby threw in.

"This was a great idea, Crawler," Angel sighed happily.

"Does anyone feel a bit bad for doing this?" Kitty wondered. "I mean, we're not being very nice—dragging him out of bed at 4 in the morning just for a prank."

"Kitty, Kitty, Kitty," Angel said with a wide grin. "Think of it this way: it builds character. And Logan loooovves building character."

oOo

**Yyyyyyeeessshhh I finished chapter 1. Gah, and I finished moving into my new house. I can't believe I had the time to write this. But here it is! Now that things have settled down, I can write more. Chapter 2 is coming, I promise! Oh, BTW, thank you to everyone reading my stuff. Much appreciated. You guys are amazing. **

**-The Ember Raven**


	2. Chapter 2

**Before the Blast**

**A/N: Yeah chapter 2 is done and out of the way (in record time, considering how slow I've been about writing lately). I just want to thank Imsuchanut, Sidney, The Captain (nods), and ImaniSechelles for their kind comments and reviews. It's made me want to write and update faster! :)**

oOo

**Chapter 2: Three weeks before the explosion**

It was getting dark when Hank called a select few students to the jet hangar to prepare for a mission. Scott and Jean came (they always did), as well as Forge, Bobby, Kurt, and a quiet girl named Rita who could disable any piece of machinery at will.

The students gathered around Hank to hear the de-briefing. "We've got some unsettling MRD activity on the outskirts of town that the Professor and I think needs to be checked on. Scott, Jean—you two are going to be overseeing the mission. Bobby and Kurt—you two are for transport and cover. Rita—you need to disarm those Mardis, and Forge—it's your job to confiscate any weapons and take them back to our lab for testing. The MRD's tech has improved lately, and they've been cracking down on mutants especially hard because of it. We need to stop this before it gets worse. Is everyone clear?"

The students nodded. "Alright," Scott said, taking charge and climbing into the jet. "Let's go, gentlemen." Jean and Rita glared at him. "Er, and gentlewomen. Girls. Whatever. Come on."

The jet took off and sped away, but not before Scott received a good pummeling from two miffed x-women.

They arrived at the scene of the MRD activity in a few minutes. Scott stayed to park to the jet somewhere inconspicuous while Jean led the others to the fight. It was short—Kurt and Bobby made sure Rita wasn't shot at or attacked while she got close enough to disable all the weapons. Once the soldiers were without guns, they either ran or gave feeble attempts to fight back against Jean, Kurt, and Bobby. It was no contest. Every MRD officer was out cold in less than two minutes. Jean and Kurt freed the mutants that were being held in the back of several MRD vans while Bobby went to get Forge. Forge came in, gingerly stepping over sprawled bodies, to collect weapons and technology samples. He confiscated a gun, a tranquilizer tool of sorts, and an earpiece.

"I'm good to go," he said, once he was satisfied. Jean and Kurt were about done freeing the mutants and encouraging them to run to safety. Once they were finished, the five of them hurried back to the jet, where Scott was waiting.

"Some help you were," Bobby groaned at Scott as everyone hopped in.

Scott shrugged. "I knew you guys could handle it. Besides, by the time I parked this baby and got over there, I'd have missed all the fun anyway."

Bobby grunted and plopped himself down beside Kurt. He was bored, so he leaned his head on Kurt's shoulder and grinned at him innocently. He knew Kurt hated being leaned on (except by Kitty, for some reason) and Kurt, unamused, gave him a slow, cold glare.

"Robert, do you vant to see eighteen?" he deadpanned. Bobby immediately sat upright and nodded.

"Yes."

"Then don't touch me again, unless you vant to experience a very painful death involving me and a paper clip." A small, impish smile crept onto his face. Kurt loved sarcasm and dark humor, but even he couldn't say some things with a straight face.

Bobby just wanted to live, so he behaved.

oOo

Warren groaned when he saw a black limousine pull up to the Institute. He'd had a perfect day—played in the pool, beaten Kitty at chess, won a contest in the Danger Room—and then his father had to come along and ruin it. It was evening, around eight o'clock.

Warren stepped away from the large window and made his way downstairs. When he got there, he saw his father talking to The Professor. He approached the two of them, calmly regarding his mentor, then glaring at his father.

"What do you want, dad?" he asked coldly.

His father looked down at him and frowned. "I'm cutting you off, Warren."

Warren blinked. "What?"

"I'm cutting you off from the family money," he said, lowering his voice and tugging at his son's arm to pull him somewhere more private. (Not that it really mattered, since Xavier was a telepath).

"I'm tired of you living with these…these freaks, Warren. You act as if your wings are normal. You go on raids to free dangerous creatures that need to be locked up. And you constantly support them with the family money. I won't have any more of it. If you don't give up this life and come back to live with me, I'm cutting you off from your money—permanently."

Angel was too stunned to speak for a moment. "Dad, I'm not a freak," he said quietly after a minute. "And being here has helped me see that." He looked up into his father's cold, steely eyes. "Fine. Cut me off. I don't care. These people are my family, and this is my life. I'd rather live someplace where I don't have to hide and feel like there's something wrong with me."

Warren's father turned his face away from his son, as if he couldn't bear to look at him any longer. "I'm very disappointed in you, son," he sighed. And with that, he turned and strode away. As Angel watched him leave, his hands curled into fights of rage.

"Bastard," he spat. His whole body was quivering. The Professor came up to him silently and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not be angry, Angel," The Professor said calmly. "His inability to accept you comes from his inability to accept himself. His real hatred and fear lies in his own heart, but he can't see that, so he places it on you."

Angel slumped forward and sighed heavily. "I'd like to be alone, if that's ok, Professor."

The Professor nodded and departed without a word.

oOo

Kurt walked into his room, tired from the mission, to find Angel sprawled across the floor on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Kurt hesitated before intruding on his friend's privacy.

"Warren, are you ok?" he asked finally.

Angel shook his head but said nothing. His gaze was blank, empty.

Kurt sat down on the floor beside his friend. He examined Angel for a while and realized what was bothering him. The blank, cold eyes. The tight jaw. The clenching and unclenching hands. "Your father came for a visit today, didn't he?"

Angel nodded. "Yep," he said in a strained voice. "He told me he's cutting me off from the family money. For good."

Kurt quirked an eyebrow. "Vell, I guess you knew _zat_ was coming," he said. "How many times has he threatened to cut you off? Three? Four?"

"Five, actually. But he says it's for real this time. Not to mention he insulted our school, all mutants, and me." His throat tightened. "He doesn't understand."

Kurt nodded sympathetically. "He doesn't vant to, I suppose. But you're his son. You'd think he could at least try…."

Angel laughed a bitter laugh. "Oh no. That is the problem, Kurt. I am his son, and I should be perfect and gentile and responsible like him. But I'm not. I am the thing he hates most in the world, and he can't bear it."

Kurt sighed. He'd known many cruel things in his short life, but he'd never had to face a parent who didn't accept him. That was one of the few good things he'd had as a child—understanding, loving parents. "Mein friend, I'm sure this whole situation is very distressing, but please remember that everyone here cares about you and likes you very much for who you are. We're your family."

Angel closed his eyes and let the bitter tears roll down his face. "I know."

oOo

It was two o' clock in the morning. Kurt went down to the kitchen for some coffee, for he'd had a rather violent nightmare. He usually didn't make it through the night without having at least one, and often he woke up and couldn't fall back asleep. So at 2 AM, he was descending the staircase to the first floor to get to the kitchen.

When he entered the room, he heard a low moan, and focused his eyes in the dark on a moving shadow. As he approached the source of the sound, his tail began flicking back and forth. He reached the table and said quietly, "Jean, is that you?" because he smelled her familiar vanilla and lilac scent.

There was another groan. "Ugh, Kurt?"

"Ja."

A pause. "Wha' are you going up at this time?"

"I might ask you the same."

"Touché. I have a killer headache," she said groggily.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Kurt replied, keeping his low. "I was just…getting something to drink. I'll leave if you vant."

"No, it's ok. Do you think….you could make me a cup of tea?"

"Is zat really a good thing to be drinking vhen you have a headache?" he asked warily.

"Yes. I have some Advil here, and the caffeine in the tea will make them work faster," Jean muttered.

So Kurt quickly made a cup of tea for Jean while his coffee was brewing, and handed it to her. "It's black tea, so it should have caffeine, ja?"

"Yes," Jean gargled. She popped two pills in her mouth, then took a sip of the tea. "Ow, hot."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Kurt winced, feeling very bad for causing her pain.

Jean patted his arm half-heartedly. "You're fine, sweetheart."

Kurt went over to the counter to make his coffee. "Do you vant anything else?" he asked.

Jean shook her head in the darkness. "No."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Just leave me here. Alone. I like the darkness and the quiet." Kurt nodded, then realized jean couldn't see it in the pitch black.

"Goodnight, fraulein."

Jean was too miserable to say anything back. When Kurt was gone, she let out another groan of pain and clutched her head between her hands. This was the second headache she'd had in a week. Something wasn't right. The only reason she got headaches was when something was upsetting her, telepathically. That strain on her mind then translated into physical pain and stress. What was causing it? Jean laid her head down on the cool table surface and closed her eyes. God, even thinking hurt.

Slowly, the Advil kicked in, and the headache subsided—sort of. It was still there, pounding in the back of her skull, but at least it was more manageable. Ever so carefully, she got up out of her chair and stumbled through the kitchen in the dark. She made her way upstairs, into her room, and crashed in her bed. Two minutes later, she was out cold.

Far away, in a tall, stone building, a blonde-haired telepath opened her eyes and smiled. It had taken her nearly a week, but she'd found Jean Grey.

oOo

**So that's it for chapter 2 (which wasn't very action-y, I know, but I'm working on it…). Anyway, I figured out a way to explain where Emma Frost came into the plot line before the explosion, and that made me happy. I was having severe writer's block. No fun. Anyway, thank you again loyal readers, and I promise chapter 3 is in the making.**

**-The Ember Raven**


	3. Chapter 3

**Before the Blast**

**A/N: Thank you Captain Mockingjay for reviewing. You appear to be my only active fan at the moment (*sniff*), but I appreciate your support and enthusiasm for my writing. I give you a magical rainbow cookie of awesomeness! Anyways, read on.**

oOo

**Chapter 3: One week before the explosion**

The Danger Room was in session. While Logan watched quietly from the observation deck, Kitty, Kurt, and Peter were doing an every-man-for-himself scenario down below. Peter was doing badly—he kept running into things and getting trapped in obstacles. Kitty was phasing through everything and trying her hardest to cause ultimate carnage. Kurt preferred an attack-retreat strategy, as he wasn't built to fight large moving objects.

Peter was the first one to go down. A large hammer suspended from the ceiling hit him from behind and sent him straight for the wall, which was severely dented after coming into contact with his body.

Kurt held on for a while longer. He was doing a good job dodging incoming objects and attacking when he could, until he was electrocuted by two metal rods that popped out of the floor.

That left Kitty, who stopped fighting when she realized Kurt and Peter weren't competing anymore. Logan closed down the program, gave the three of them a few strategy tips, and left.

When he was gone, Kitty walked over to Peter and Kurt, who were resting along the wall near the door, and said, "Ha! I hope you're not too embarrassed to have been schooled by a girl."

"Aw, come on Keety. Don't rub it in," Peter said. "Besides, Kurt and I have to fight everything that comes at us. You can just phase through it. Where's the struggle for you?"

"My powers take as much effort to use as yours do," Kitty said, sticking her tongue out. "And stop making excuses. You boys lost fair and square."

"Perhaps we lost this once," Kurt said, "but we've beaten you before many times. You just got lucky, Kitty."

Kitty frowned at him. "Lucky? Please. I could do this program again and beat you a second time."

"I'll accept that challenge," Kurt said with a sly grin.

"Wait, wait, wait. I don't want to do this again," Peter complained, putting his hands up in defense.

"Peter, your manly pride is at stake," Kurt whispered to him. "Are you going to back down from zis?"

Peter sighed. "I suppose not. Fine, then. We can have a rematch next week."

Kitty and Kurt both smiled.

oOo

It was early afternoon. Jean knocked on the door to the professor's office. She'd had another headache the previous night, and was starting to worry.

"Come in Jean," the professor said warmly from inside. So Jean pushed the door open and went to sit down beside her mentor. The professor smiled at her, but his smile faded when he sensed her uneasiness.

"What's the matter, Jean?" he asked quietly.

Jean sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't know, Professor. It's probably nothing, but last night I had a really bad headache. That's the third one I've had recently."

The professor leaned in and put a hand on her shoulder. He looked her in the eye and said, "Psychic headaches, I presume?"

Jean nodded. "Yes."

The professor put his hands on Jean's face and let his mind tangle with hers. _What do you think is causing them_, he asked as he began searching through her mind. Jean bit her lip.

_I don't know. It starts with this fuzzy feeling in the back of my head—like static—and then my head starts to spin and I can't focus on anything but the pain._

_Fuzziness in the back of the head? _The Professor thought. _That's usually a sign that you're tired, mentally. How much have you been practicing your telepathy lately?_

Jean shrugged._ A bit more than usual, I guess. Maybe I am a bit tired._

The professor retreated from her mind after finding nothing unusual and opened his eyes. "Then that's probably it," he said. "Try laying off from your practice for the rest of the week and see if you feel any better."

Jean smiled a little and nodded. She rose to her feet and said, "Thank you, professor. I'm glad I came by to talk to you. For a while there, I was worried something was wrong with me."

The professor saw her to the door. "You're perfectly fine, Jean," he said. "There's nothing wrong with you."

oOo

(Elsewhere in the mansion)

"Aaaand check." Kitty set her black knight near the white queen and grinned triumphantly. Angel glared at the board with great scrutiny. The two of them were playing chess. It had been Angel's turn to pick a game today, and he'd hoped Kitty would be bad at it, of course forgetting that he was terrible with strategy games.

"Fine," he said, drawing his king out of harm's way. Kitty put her queen two tiles away from it.

"And check again, bird brain. I can do this all day."

Angel blinked. "Why do I agree to play games with you that I'm sure to lose?" he asked. Kitty smiled sweetly.

"I don't know. Because you're a nimrod and haven't learned that I'm way better at games than you are? By the way, checkmate."

"Grr," Angel growled as his king was pitched into his pile of 'dead' chess pieces.

Kurt was nearby playing Go Fish with Bobby. "Hey Angel, maybe you should try your luck at card games. Maybe Kitty's no good at canasta…rummy…strip poker."

"Kurt!" Kitty protested. "I would never play strip poker. What a horrible game."

Kurt smiled mischievously and glanced up from his cards. "Zat's not true. I once played strip poker vith a lovely French girl. We had fun, even though it pretty much ruined my purity…." he added, shaking his head dramatically.

Angel and Kitty both froze and stared at him in utter disbelief. Bobby thrust out his closed hand for a fist bump. "Scoring it with the ladies, alright!" he said. "That did actually happen, right?"

Kurt whacked him over the head with the deck of cards. "Of course not, dummkopf. It's called sarcasm."

Bobby rubbed the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly. "Riiight. Sarcasm. I knew that."

Angel shook his head. "I don't have the guts to play games that involve drinking or the removal of clothing. And it's not like Kitty would ever agree to something like that…."

"Exactly," Kitty confirmed, throwing a death glare at Kurt.

Angel added: "On the other hand, I've never seen a girl naked before and I would really like"—

Kitty whacked Angel across the chest with the chessboard. "Don't even say it, Warren. Ugh, boys! You're all so single minded and stupid. I'm gonna go find Rogue and do something intelligent."

When Kitty was through fuming and finally stormed off, Angel crawled over to Bobby and Kurt and sat near them. "Oof, Kitty has a good arm," he commented.

"Zen don't anger her and make her vant to hurt you," Kurt suggested.

"I wasn't the one who suggested strip poker," Angel pointed out.

"It vas a joke, Warren."

Angel sighed. "Yeah."

Silence.

After thirty seconds, Bobby finally looked up from his cards and said, "So Kurt, are you _sure_ that French girl you mentioned doesn't exist?"

Kurt and Angel both found something hard to hit him with.

oOo

(Later that same evening)

The blonde-haired telepath was sitting in a large red chair near a fireplace. Across from her was a short, heavy-set gentleman with grey streaks in his gingery beard. The two of them were having a conversation, part telepathic, park spoken.

"Why aren't we going after the girl?" the man asked, stroking his thick, bushy beard in irritation.

_Because, we can't just walk up to the Xavier Institute and abduct one of the most powerful telepaths in the world from under the nose of thirty-plus mutants,_ the blonde woman argued.

_Why not? The other mutants will be easy to deal with, and the only other telepath there is the old man, Xavier. We can deal with him._

_Don't underestimate Xavier. Or the girl,_ the blonde woman thought, sighing aloud. _The girl is extremely powerful. You know that as well as I. Taking her out would require many of us, plus we don't even know that we can keep her under control once we __**do**__ have her. The stress might cause her to unleash her powers._

_You suspect she has no mental barriers to protect her from the Phoenix, _the man challenged. He raised a thick eyebrow.

The woman rose from her chair and began to pace. _I can't tell. Every time I try breaking into her mind, I trigger pain of some sort, and that pushes me out. And I don't dare try to pry at the dear old professor's mind to find out. I'd get caught for sure. But the point is, barriers or no, it's going to be a mess. I suggest we wait until we've assessed the situation better._

_Wait? We're not going to wait much longer, Emma. I want that girl—we all do. We need her, and I promise you I'll do anything to get her if you don't, _the man warned darkly, his eyes flashing dangerously.

The blonde-haired woman closed her eyes and massaged her temples. "Fine," she said slowly. "I'll go get the Cuckoos. We'll bring you Jean Grey."

The man smiled and rose to his feet as well. "Excellent."

oOo

**I had to rewrite this three times, before I was happy with it, so I hope it turned out ok and that I didn't overwork it. Also, thank you again to anyone and everyone still reading my work.**

**-The Ember Raven**


	4. Chapter 4

**Before the Blast**

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Been busy doing other things, and by that I mean art, which is more fun than this (sorry, but it's true). But I had a burnout the other day, so I'm back to writing. Hope that makes everyone happy. And remember, I'll never abandon my stories, so this will get finished, hopefully before next year or the world ends or kittens take over the planet with their cuteness. That sort of thing. Anyway, read on!**

oOo

**Chapter 4: The day of the explosion**

(9 AM)

Storm called everyone into the kitchen for breakfast. She didn't have to call more than once—everyone who wasn't present at the kitchen table appeared there in the next twenty seconds. Ororo smiled. Whenever food was involved, people listened to her. When it wasn't—nada.

Breakfast commenced as it always did. There were the not-so-quiet spats about who'd taken more than 3 pieces of bacon, and who'd taken more eggs than everyone else. There was the quiet morning chatter about practice sessions and hanging out and what to do after the meal. Some people didn't talk at all. They were still half-asleep. Zombies of the morning.

Jean was completely silent. She'd felt particularly bad since she'd woken up. Now, the noise from the room wasn't helping her headache and feeling of general distress. She pushed the food on her plate around for a few minutes before she got up and left. Scott left with her.

"Jean, what's the matter?" he asked as he followed her down the empty hallway.

Jean shook her head. "Nothing. I just don't feel good."

Scott sighed. "Is it about the other day?"

Jean sat down on the floor and leaned her back against the cool wall. "What?" she groaned.

"You know—that fight Logan and I had. Are you upset about that?" (1)

Jean closed her eyes and lowered her head into her hands. "God, no. I just don't feel well, that's all. It's not you, or Logan."

Scott rubbed her shoulder nervously. "So, have you forgiven me for that yet?" he asked hopefully.

"No. But why are you even still talking about that? I'm in pain—I don't care about that right now!" Scott moved closer to her while continuing to massage her shoulders and back.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered. "You just sit there until you feel alright."

Jean nodded and went back to thinking about the pain. There was nothing else to do.

oOo

(11 Am)

Kitty, Kurt, and Peter were all in the Danger Room for their rematch. So far, Kitty still appeared to be winning. Peter was doing all he could not to get smashed to pieces, and Kurt was hiding behind a metal cylinder, trying to avoid some heavy laser fire. Kitty expertly dodged everything that came at her. Underneath her calm mask, she was nervous as hell. If she lost, the boys would never let her live it down. Her feminine pride was at stake here. She couldn't lose. Not now. A giant sheet of metal dropped from the ceiling. She barely had time to phase through it as it fell. She jumped aside, trying to calm herself again.

Just then, she saw Peter nearby, wrestling off a metal arm with electrodes on the end. He destroyed it and ran away to hide. Kitty couldn't help but mess with him. "What's the matter Peter? Can't stand to be schooled by a girl?" Peter sighed.

"I'm not"—

A large, snaking tentacle came out of nowhere and plucked Kitty right off the ground.

"Whoa!" she cried, struggling to wriggle free. "Peter, get up here and help me," she demanded, forgetting the contest.

Peter grinned, glad to see things were turning in his favor. "Sorry Keety," he said with a wave and a smile.

Kitty shrieked with frustration. Kurt teleported beside her and smiled.

"Kurt, get me down," she snapped.

Kurt smiled some more and shook his head. "Why don't you just phase through it?" he asked.

Kitty exhaled. "And fall on my face? I don't think so. Now, help me down."

"You're an X-man. Do it yourself," he taunted, teleporting away.

"Kurt!" she screamed after him. No use. After a while, she went back to screaming for help from Peter.

Unfortunately, it wasn't too long before he was caught as well. A circular magnet the size of a car was lowered from the ceiling. It caught Peter from behind and pulled him to it. "Ugh," he groaned, struggling to break free. In his metal state, however, there was nothing he could do.

He was raised up beside Kitty. Peter looked over at her gingerly. "Well hello Keety," he said.

Kitty was still trying to escape the tight bondage of the tentacle. She stopped for a moment and glared at him. "Some help you are."

Kurt teleported beside them both. "Hey, five more seconds, und I win," he grinned.

Kitty wanted to smack him. Only, she was dangling thirty feet off the ground, and her hands were caught somewhere near her thighs. "Grr," she said through gritted teeth.

At that moment, the metal container Kurt had been standing on opened, and a jet of green sticky goo sent him flying into the ceiling, and stuck him there for good. The timer dinged, ending the scenario.

Peter was about to ask who won, when Kitty interrupted. "Wait…what just happened?"

Peter looked down to see Logan standing in the operating deck. "He happened." Logan waved to the three of them from the other side of the glass.

"Just my little way of saying goodbye," he said into the microphone, so the three of them could hear him.

And with that, he turned and left. "Logan!" Kitty screamed after him. Nothing.

"Wait! How do we get down?" she asked, looking at the floor far below. No one had an answer.

oOo

(11:30 AM)

Logan had his backpack filled with clothes, food, money—everything he'd need for a road trip. He slung his bag over his shoulder and looked once around his room with a sigh. He needed to leave for a while. Things between him and Jean were awkward, and things between him and Scott were…strained to say the least. The Professor had been getting on him for going after Jean, and Hank had lectured him about it once or twice as well. Maybe it was time he left and let things cool down.

_Serves me right, I s'pose_, he thought to himself. Flirting with a nineteen year old girl probably wasn't a smart idea, considering he was over 100 years old himself. And plus Jean was taken. So that made things even more interesting.

Logan sighed again and opened the door. He slipped into the darkness of the hallway like a phantom in the night. He just wanted to leave. To be invisible.

oOo

(11:32 AM)

"Alright girls," Emma said to the Cuckoos, who were sitting in the back seats of the black limousine. They were headed for the Xavier Institute. Quietly. Gently. Unobtrusively. Emma had been planning the whole thing for a week. It was a simple plan, really. Knock everyone unconscious with a psychic wave. Emma and one of her girls would deal with the Professor. The other telepaths would focus on Jean and trying to knock her out. They'd take her back to the car and make good their escape. Before they left, Emma would wipe everyone's memory, and they'd never know what had taken Jean. Simple enough.

"We're almost there now. I need all of you to quiet your thoughts. Be calm. I don't want anyone to sense us coming. We're just passerbys. Normal people. Nothing unusual. Understand?"

The girls all nodded and closed their eyes in concentration. Emma did the same. She put up a weak mental barrier. Enough to shield her thoughts from Xavier or Jean, but not strong enough for them to sense the negative energy of the shield.

It was perfect. Emma had every detail worked out. Her plan would succeed.

oOo

(11:45 AM)

Logan was on his way to say goodbye to the Professor. He'd already said goodbye to Hank and Rogue. He'd gotten to see Jean, but he didn't dare talk to her. Surely she was still made about his fight with Scott.

As he approached the Professor, he sighed for the fifth or sixth time that day. He was so ready to leave, and yet there was never anywhere he felt more at home. This was where he belonged. With his students. With his friends. With his mentor….

He looked Xavier in the face. The professor smiled warmly and nodded a little, beckoning him closer. Why not? Logan approached his teacher and averted his eyes. He wanted to say he was sorry for causing trouble. He wanted to explain why he was leaving—again. But he couldn't find the words. The only thing he said was, "Charles"—

And then there was a bang. Not just any bang, but a bang so loud it shook the ground like an earthquake. The sound was enough to make his ears bleed. There was a tremendous shiver in the earth, and then a rush of heat, like fire. And then darkness.

When Logan awoke, he couldn't hear a thing. He could only see a haziness, like smoke hanging in the air. He felt numb. He shakily rose to his feet and stumbled around, disoriented. Where was he? Why was there fire and smoke? A scream pierced the silence.

"Professor!" The voice was Storm's. Logan ran to her and stopped beside her, just short of a large, smoking crater in the ground. That was where the professor had been. Storm was on her hands and knees, sobbing and muttering to herself. Logan gave her a small, reassuring hug. He didn't know what else to do.

Who else was alive? Where were they? What had happened. Logan was still disoriented and half-conscious. His thoughts were fuzzy.

He wandered around in the smoke, trying to see who else had survived. He tripped over something large—a piece of a statue. He recognized it as part of the angel statue from the front yard. Underneath it were boards and shingles and mounds of plaster. The mansion. The entire mansion was gone, and he was standing in its remains.

Logan stood up and took a few steps back. No, not the mansion. Not everything. It was all gone. He wanted to scream, but his voice was far away. A sudden emptiness filled his chest. "Oh god," he whispered.

He wandered off again, desperate to find anyone else who was still alive. All of his students were here. What if one of them were hurt, or worse…? What if everyone was dead?

"Jeeeaaan!" Logan snapped his head in the direction of the cry. It was Scott's voice calling out. Logan ran towards the source. Scott was standing alone in the smoke, hunched forward. "Jean!" he cried again. Logan could see he was burned. There was a large black scorch mark on the ground next to him.

"Scott, come on, we have to get out of here," Logan said, tugging at his shoulder. Scott shrugged it off.

"No! I have to find Jean!"

Logan grabbed him—more fiercely this time. "Jean's gone," he hissed. "And you'll be dead too if you stick around here." Scott turned to run, but Logan whacked him across the head with his fist. He was out cold. Logan picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. "We're getting outta here," he growled.

As he was finding his way through the smoke, Logan saw a shadowy figure. He approached it.

"Who's there?" he asked. There was a groan.

"Logan. Help."

Logan came closer. "Elf?" As he approached, he saw Kurt lying on the ground, half buried by some rubble. Logan pushed it aside and pulled Kurt to his feet.

"You ok, Kurt?" Kurt nodded weakly.

"Ja. But where's Angel? I was just vith him, und we were talking und I heard zis sound und then…" He looked around. "What happened?"

Logan began sifting through the rubble, trying to find Angel. "I don't know, kid," he replied. His voice was cold. Empty. "Some kinda explosion."

Kurt walked around in circles a few times. "Is anyone else alive?"

"Yeah. Storm. And Scott, here. And you."

"Is zat it?" Kurt couldn't keep the terror out of his voice.

"Nope," Logan groaned. "I just found Angel." Kurt rushed over to him. Angel was alive but unconscious. He was scratched up and bloody, but nothing worse.

"He'll be fine," Logan muttered. "I'm going t'go find other survivors. You stay with Angel and keep an eye on him."

Kurt shook his head. "No, I'll help you look for survivors. I can teleport around—it'll be much quicker zan vhat you're doing."

Logan growled. "Fine. I'll take Angel too, then, I suppose." And he slung Angel over his other shoulder.

He and Kurt went separate ways. Kurt teleported from place to place, looking for someone—anyone. He wanted to know that Bobby and Peter and Kitty and everyone else he cared about were still alive and in one piece. As he moved around, finding nothing, his heart sank. Eventually, Kurt sat down on a long piece of wood and cried.

oOo

When Emma awoke, she smelled smoke. And lots of it. She slowly picked herself up off the ground and surveyed her surroundings. The mansion was shrouded in a thick layer of smoke. It was all but entirely destroyed from what she could tell. There was no movement. No sound. Probably no survivors. She closed her eyes and scanned around for brain activity. She found a few scattered minds. But no Jean.

Emma went around, arousing the Cuckoos from their unconscious state. One by one, they rose. Their faces were filled with shame.

"Jean is…gone?" one of them whispered.

"Yes," Emma murmured. "But not dead, I think. And nor is the Professor. We can use that to our advantage. Girls, go find Xavier and bring him to me. Now."

The Cuckoos ran off into the haze to find the professor. Emma paced nervously. She had failed entirely. Jean had sensed the psychic blast and retaliated. She'd gone into full Phoenix mode to protect herself, and she'd taken nearly all of her home with it. Now, there was no Jean, and a half-dead professor. Maybe he would have some use, but Emma couldn't see it yet.

She sighed and closed her eyes. Just then, she sensed the girls returning. The had the professor with them, unconscious and nearly dead. "He's still alive," one of the girls said quietly.

"I know. Get him into the car. We're leaving. This"—she glanced at the smoky mess where the mansion had been—"is over."

oOo

**Yay, I wrote a long chapter for once, just like I promised. So, this isn't the end, of course. There will be another chapter. A post-blast chapter, despite the name of the story. I just can't end it here. Anyway, thank you for reading.**

**-TheEmberRaven**


	5. Chapter 5

**Before the Blast**

**A/N: Sooo I'm at Govie School now (woot woot), hence why I haven't been writing this lately. But I want to finish this story, so here goes the last chapter…. **

oOo

**Chapter 5: 1 Day after the Explosion**

(8 AM)

Kitty woke up in her bed. She wasn't sure how she'd gotten there, but when she opened her eyes, she definitely felt sheets, warm blankets. She sat up swiftly and small gasp escaped from her lips.

_Is this a dream?_ She wondered, closing her eyes. She remembered walking down the hall at the institute with Amara. They were laughing at a joke about Angel, having fun, just chilling. And then there was a rush of air, followed by darkness. When she woke up, everything was gone. The school. The students. Everything. In one instant, her world became a shattered mess of debris, swirling embers, heavy smoke, and distant cries. It made her feel sick inside. And then, the world had gone dark again and she'd woken up here.

"Mom?" she called weakly, hoping to bring some clarity to her fuzzy world.

A few moments later, her mother appeared in the doorway, as if she'd been waiting outside. "Kitty," she said softly, coming to sit beside her daughter on the bed. Her face was tight with worry and tears threatened to break lose at the corners of her eyes.

"Mom, why am I here? I was at school and there was a…a blast of some kind and it was terrible. Like, everything was gone. Like the building and the students." She gasped for a moment. "Ohmygosh are they ok? Someone might be hurt or worse….where's the professor? What happened? Why am I here, mommy?" Her voice got louder and louder and fear creeped into it as she spoke.

Her mother stroked her face tenderly and pressed her lips together sadly. "Mr. Logan brought you to our house last night. You were unconscious and your father and I worried you were hurt but we were scared to take you to a hospital and we've spent all night worrying about you…." Her mother too a breath. "Mr. Logan explained what happened. Sort of. There was an…explosion of sorts. Like maybe a bomb or something. The whole school is gone and most of the students are missing. The police and fire department were all over the place last night. It was so horrible…" she trailed off.

Kitty sat back and closed her eyes. "Oh god," she whispered. Who was dead? Who was alive? Had the MRD showed up? Where were her teachers? Her friends? They were her life. Without them, she had nothing…The notion made her sick in the deepest pit of her stomach. She wanted to throw up.

Kitty's mother rubbed the back of her hand comfortingly. "I don't know exactly what happened, but I'm just so glad you're safe. We heard some of the kids, well…"

"'Some of the other kids' what, mom?" Kitty asked. Her throat closed up.

Her mother swallowed. "There were about six casualties."

Kitty burst into tears. "No!" she screamed, burying her face in her trembling hands. Her brain raced at a hundred miles an hour. Who had died? Amara? Jean? Tabby? Angel? Kurt? Bobby? One of the younger students? She couldn't bear the thought. It made her stomach lurch and twist.

She cried for almost two hours.

(10 AM)

Kurt woke up in a tree. He was stiff and tired. His limbs were heavy, like they'd been infused with lead. His brain was fuzzy; it hurt to think. He sat up on the branch he'd been sleeping on and looked around slowly. Angel was on a branch just below him, his sprawling white wings spread out wide.

"Warren," Kurt hissed sharply. Angel shifted in his sleep slightly but didn't otherwise react. Kurt decided to let him sleep. He did a little bit of stretching before standing up on his branch and crawling down the side of the tree trunk. On the ground, circling the base of the tree, were several other students. Amara. Sam. Rogue. Scott—anyone who didn't have a home to go to. Logan had taken Bobby, Kitty, and a few other students home late last night.

Kurt sighed. His chest was heavy; there was a deep pit in his stomach that made him feel sick. He sighed again and sat down next to a sleeping Amara. Amara's face was tight, even in her sleep. Kurt frowned as he examined her expression. Her eyes were crunched at the edges, her jaw was tense. Her breaths were shallow and short. Kurt could even hear her racing heartbeat.

_Gott, she's so young_, he thought sadly, closing his eyes and leaning back against the cool bark of the tree. _Where is she going to live?_ He paused and took a deep breath. _Where am I going to live?_ The pit in his stomach suddenly got deeper. _Do I have to go back to Germany? God no. Please God no._ He ran a list of possibilies through his head. _I could get a job, live in an apartment. Or Angel and I could….move in with his….never mind. I think I'd rather live on the—_

"Kurt. Kurt?"

Kurt opened one eye slowly. Logan was standing a few feet away, his arms crossed defensively. "You awake kid?"

"Ja. Vhere have you been?"

Logan extended an arm and pulled Kurt to his feet. "Out and about. I checked out the school for a bit. Checked on Ororo and Hank."

"Vhat's going on at the school? Und yeah vhere are Storm and Hank?" Kurt had noticed their absences earlier.

Logan shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. "The schools a mess. There's cops and news reporters everywhere. We just better lay low for a bit. Storm and Hank are hiding out in the underground bunker. I couldn't convince them to leave."

Kurt swallowed. "How many?"

He and Logan met eyes and Logan knew what he meant. "Right now, six from what the news reports are stating. They don't have names yet. The bodies are too"—

"Stop, please stop," Kurt interrupted. "I don't vant to know." Logan nodded and put a hand on his thin shoulder.

"I'm sorry, elf. None of this is supposed t'happen. It just ain't right. You kids need homes. Lives. You don't deserve any f'this."

"What's going to happen to us?" he asked quietly.

Logan shook his head. "I dunno kid. Angel can always go back to his father. Amara can….go back to South America I suppose…."

"Vhat about me?"

Logan was silent for a while. Kurt was one of his favorite students. Hell, he practically felt like his father sometimes. He didn't want Kurt to go back to Germany, but he had no home in America now. "I don't know."

Kurt nodded. "Figures as much," he muttered quietly to himself.

He turned around and sat down under the tree again. "I'm going back to sleep," he told Logan. "Maybe I'll wake up, and zis has all been some sort of horrible nightmare."

Logan frowned and said, "Yeah, kid, we all wish that were true."

oOo

(1 P.M)

Warren had never felt so bad in his life, except maybe when his father disowned him. He woke up and sat on his tree branch thinking for almost an hour. When his head hurt from that, he climbed down and joined Kurt, Scott, and the other students who were awake. They sat around eating chewy bars that Amara had had in her backpack. The silence was awkward, tense, like a physical weight around the students.

After eating, Amara cried and went back to sleep. Bobby wandered off to clear his head, and Scott sat down under the tree again, cold and lifeless. Kurt wandered off with Angel into the forest nearby. Angel turned to Kurt as if he wanted to say something, but when their eyes met, the only thing he could do was sigh and put his head on Kurt's shoulder.

"I feel like this is a dream or something," Angel groaned. "I'm not even sure I'm awake sometimes. I mean, I'm not even going to try to understand what all happened last night—because I have no idea—and now I can't stop wondering about where we're all going to live and who's going to feed us and keep us safe. I mean, who's going to look after Amara? She's just a little kid. And Bobby's hardly any older. _We're_ hardly any older. What's going to happen to us now?"

He paused and took another breath. Kurt patted his blonde, feathery hair silently and shook his head. "I am as confused as you are, mein friend. But we'll be alright."

"How do you know?" Angel whispered.

"Because. We always are."

oOo

(2:00 P.M.)

Emma didn't want to step into the house. She didn't want to face her friends and colleagues. See their disappointed, furious faces. She could already feel their minds pressing against hers like walls closing her in. She swallowed all of her apprehension and opened the door. The grey-haired telepath was on the other side. His face was impassive, unreadable.

He regarded her coldly, with steely eyes that pierced at her like knives. In the main room of the old house, the others were waiting for her. The cuckoos were a few feet behind Emma; they kept their distance. Emma looked at each of the telepaths in the room and bowed her head in shame.

"Brothers, sisters, I have failed you," she whispered.

The initial response she got was sharp thoughts in her head, stabbing at her brain. She cringed but took her punishment silently. When the stabbing thoughts retreated, the dark haired telepath with green eyes spoke up.

"Yes, you have failed. Jean Grey is nowhere to be found, nor are any of the other students for that matter. Dammit Emma you were supposed to get the girl, not have her blow the place sky high."

"It wasn't my fault," Emma said weakly. "I didn't expect the Phoenix to be so easy to unleash. It was more volatile than you can possibly imagine. I barely had to pry at her mind, and it all broke loose. There was nothing I could do to stop it."

The group was silent for a few minutes. Emma felt bad enough for destroying the school, but she was more upset about disappointing her fellow telepaths. She spoke after a while: "I did manage to go in and recover Charles Xavier's body. He's still alive. I have him in our car outside. Perhaps we could use him to find the girl again," she suggested.

The ginger-haired telepath replied to this. "Do you believe the girl is still alive?"

"Yes. I felt her mind after the explosion. She survived it I'm sure."

"And how do you propose we use Xavier's body to our advantage?" one of the telepaths interjected.

"We could give him to Magneto."

They all stared at Emma. "Whatever for?"

"Because. I have a plan worked out," Emma said, her voice growing louder and more confident. "I'm going to save the X-men."

oOo

(6:00 P.M.)

Logan was standing on a hilltop that overlooked a lazy highway. His hat was cocked forward on his head so that it shaded his eyes. He'd had a long day. He'd had to take several students home and say goodbye to them and their families. He hated saying goodbye. He never told anyone, but he hated it.

He'd had to talk to the remaining students about what was next. Comfort them, answer questions, explain about what had happened—or at least try to. He wasn't even sure himself. It was all over so fast, and then everything was in slow motion, like a horror film. He felt that pit in his stomach that everyone had now. He felt empty inside. Where was the professor? They hadn't found a body, and he hadn't escaped. And what about Storm and Hank? What would happen to them? Would they ever be able to leave what remained of the Institute?

A faint sound drew him from his thoughts. He heard a fast heartbeat gradually increasing, and he recognized it as Kurt's. "What is it, elf?" Logan asked dryly. He wasn't in the mood to talk. He just wanted to be alone and think.

Kurt stepped up beside him and looked down on the highway as well. His face was a mask, but his eyes were full of sadness. "I'm leaving," he replied.

Shocked, Logan looked up and met his student's eyes. "What?"

Kurt shrugged and shifted around nervously. "I don't know. I don't have a home now, und I've never really felt like I belonged anyvhere, except vhen I vas at the school. Now zat it's gone….I have nothing."

"You could get a job. Work. Live somewhere," Logan suggested quickly. The last thing he wanted to hear was that Kurt was throwing himself back on the streets. "You don't have to do this, kid."

"Come on, Logan," Kurt chuckled darkly. "Who vould hire me? Who vould give me a place to stay? At least if I'm on my own I can do things mein way."

"Go back t'being a thief, you mean?"

Kurt shrugged. "I hope not."

Logan thought for a minute before saying, "Well, you could stay with me, if you want, you know."

Kurt glanced up, his face a mixture of surprise and doubt. "You vould hate it if I did."

"Naw I wouldn't."

"You vould. Besides, I like to alone too."

Logan reached out and put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "You ain't s'pposed to be alone."

"Do I have a choice?" Kurt asked bitterly.

Logan let his hand fall to his side. "I don't want you to go, kid."

Kurt smiled a tiny smile. "I know. But don't worry about me. I can take care of meinself."

Logan noticed for the first time that Kurt had a backpack on and was wearing a hat to shroud his face. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed before, but his mind wasn't fully there. He sighed and pulled Kurt into a hug, realizing this was goodbye. Kurt hugged him back.

"Take care of yourself, elf."

Kurt smiled a little at hearing his pet-name. "Ja. I vill."

He broke free from Logan's fierce grasp and stepped back before vanishing in a puff of smoke with a loud bamf. Logan blinked. Kurt was just….gone. He might not ever see him again. Ever. The hole in his chest got deeper.

oOo

(8:00 PM)

When Kitty heard a knock on the door she stayed on the couch and stared blankly at the wall. Her mother had to answer the door, to see Angel and Bobby on the other side. Kitty's mother frowned but let them in, knowing that their presence might comfort her daughter.

Angel and Bobby sat on either side of Kitty and gave her a mutual hug. Kitty looked from Bobby to Angel and managed a weak smile. "What are you doing here, guys?" she asked in a bare whisper.

Angel sighed. "Checking on you."

There was silence for a minute. Then, "You know, I was just watching the news report on TV about the school," said Kitty. "It didn't really hurt that much." She glanced at Angel and Bobby's faces. "Is that bad, that it doesn't hurt?"

"You're just numb," Bobby said. "We all are."

Kitty nodded barely. "Yeah." She looked at Bobby. "What's going on with everyone else? Logan didn't tell my mom too much last night, and she didn't tell me too much either."

Bobby shrugged. "I was in the same situation until just recently, when Angel came by. Logan sent me home."

Kitty turned to Angel. He just shrugged. Logan's been sending kids home. The rest of us…well, we're not sure what to do. Scott's barely functional, poor guy. And Amara and Sam and dead to the world right now. Hell, so am I."

Kitty looked at the carpet. "So, are you going to live with your father?"

Angel made a face of weary disgust. "I hope it doesn't come to that," he said. "But I might have to, if you know, homelessness doesn't work out for me."

Kitty's eyes darted up to his face. "You can stay with me and my family," she offered quietly. "You don't have to stay on the streets."

Angel shook his head. "I couldn't as that of you, Kitty."

"It would be ok, really," she insisted.

"Yeah, or you could stay with me," Bobby added.

Angel put up his hand. "No," he said firmly. "It's really ok."

Kitty sighed in resignation. "Who else is left?"

Angel shrugged. "Not too many. Some of the younger students. And Rogue."

"Where's Kurt?" Kitty asked suddenly, remembering he hadn't been mentioned. She prayed to God he was alive.

Angel sat back on the couch. "He left this afternoon. Decided to take it solo, I guess."

Kitty exhaled with relief. "He could have stayed with one of us."

"I think we all just want to be alone right now," Angel said.

Kitty sat forward on the couch and looked angrily at both boys. "No! We have to stay together. We have nothing left….but each other. We can't just split up."

Angel sadly lowered his eyes and gave Kitty another hug. "It's a bit too late for that, I think," he said. "It's over. The X-men are over."

Kitty closed her eyes and started to cry. She and Bobby both knew Angel was right. The three of them sat there on Kitty's couch in defeated silence. There was nothing else to do.

oOo

*Fin*

**OMG I finally finished it! Yay. See? I would never abandon you guys. I love you all too much. Anyway, sorry the last chapter drags on a bit. But I didn't know how to end it! I had to re-write like 6 times. Hope you like the end. :D**

**-The Ember Raven**


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